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“I Don’t Normally Read Your Articles Nick”. That’s fine but please make today’s an exception!

I am definitely not the “I told you so” sort of guy; so forgive me if anything I say comes across that way.

It angers me that the misinformation and media hype of late have resulted in so many people making some really bad decisions… that will now cost them forever!

Am I suggesting a gung-ho attitude through the global downturn? Absolutely not! Recklessness will get you in trouble… as will inactivity.

Financially navigating your way through life is a challenge for most at the best of times, let alone the past two years. The financial crisis and economic downturn has supported my message that “you need to do something”.

Our research and carefully considered economic opinions over the past couple of years contradicted many economic commentators… but have nevertheless been proven correct.

With the backdrop of knowledge and responsible debt management, I believe NOW is the time to speak with an mrd property mentor and take us up on our offer of a Personalised Retirement Options Plan.

Personalised Retirement Options Plan

A Personalised Retirement Options Plan is a one-on-one interactive webinar between you and an mrd property mentor, who will build a retirement options plan with you and explain each step along the way. They will also prepare sample cash flow analysis reports to better explain the mrd Advanced Financing Strategies.

Please be aware our complimentary education is designed solely for the purpose of helping you make fully informed decisions. It is not designed to make a sale. The team @ mrd will not take advantage of your desire to become informed.

1. When will I be able to afford to stop working?
2. About how much can I expect to live on (in today’s dollars)?
3. How many properties would this take?
4. What if interest rates go up?

These are just some of the many “what if” scenarios you may ask of a property mentor.

To take advantage of this offer we will first need to establish a mutually acceptable time, computer to computer. Please contact us and nominate your available times either by telephone during normal business hours (07) 5580 8888 or by clicking here. NB: First priority will be given to those who have attended our current series of webinars >>more

As I said earlier, the many contradictory voices now seem to be in harmony with what we have been consistently saying. Unrelenting population growth, the worst housing shortage for 200 years and interest rates at their lowest in 49 years… we are looking into a “perfect storm”.

Here are just some of the many favourable comments found in the media this week after the Queensland Government’s release the new SEQ Regional Draft Plan, to 2031:

• Government Reveals Plan For Booming SE Qld
• Another 754,000 homes will be needed in Queensland’s southeast corner, with the population expected to grow from 2.8 to 4.4 million by the early 2030′s
• The plan will govern how Australia’s fastest-growing region is managed from now to 2031
• Aussie Property About To Ride A Big Wave

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Another 754,000 homes will be needed in Queensland’s southeast corner, with the population expected to grow from 2.8 to 4.4 million by the early 2030s, a new report says. Queensland’s Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe released the updated South East Queensland Regional Plan in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The plan will govern how Australia’s fastest-growing region is managed from now to 2031. Mr Hinchliffe said the regional plan would also protect 85 per cent of southeast Queensland, including koala habitat, from urban development. He said the regional plan would encourage development away from the coast and towards a corridor west of Brisbane.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast are expected to take about a fifth of the new homes each, Ipswich 16 per cent, the Sunshine Coast 13 per cent, Moreton Bay 11 per cent and Logan nine per cent. “But we can’t have that across the whole of the region without breaking out and creating that sprawl that we don’t want to have, without damaging the 85 per cent of the southeast that’s being protected,” Mr Hinchliffe told reporters.

Australian Koala Foundation chief executive Deborah Tabart said koala habitat was still in great danger. “The 85 per cent sounds fabulous but it does not take in 85 per cent of the region’s high koala populations,” Ms Tabart said. “If they were saying 85 per cent of the koala coast then it’s good news.”

Property groups are calling for compensation, saying many owners stand to lose planned developments or part of their property. Urban Development Institute of Australia national executive director Brian Stewart said at least six developments in the Redland Bay area would be affected. “No one objects to the rights of the people of the Redlands to say we really want to preserve our koala populations,” Mr Stewart said. “If you have a piece of land and then all of a sudden you cannot develop a third or a half of it, immediately your profit margin goes down, the scale of the development goes down and you may not have a viable development on your hands which means job losses.”

The plan has identified areas within the urban footprint for high density living such as suburbs around the Northern Busway, Brisbane’s CBD, Milton, Albion, Woolloongabba, Bowen Hills, South Brisbane and West End. Further out, suburbs such as Chermside, Indooroopilly, Carindale and Upper Mt Gravatt will also become higher density. Mr Hinchliffe said the plan set an urban dwelling target of 15 homes per hectare but would protect the “great backyard” as a housing option. “That is a style of housing and a style of residential accommodation that people in southeast Queensland know very well,” he said.

The report also identifies job opportunities particularly in the growing science, medical and technology industries at Buranda, Coopers Plains, Eight Mile Plains, Southport and Toowoomba. Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek said it was vital that infrastructure was built to keep pace with population growth and housing was kept affordable. “That hasn’t happened so far,” Mr Langbroek said.

The region covers an area of 22,890 square kilometres, stretching 240km from Noosa in the north to the Queensland-NSW border in the south, and 160km west to Toowoomba.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/local/5756771/govt-reveals-plan-for-booming-se-qld/

Australia’s property sector is about to catch a wave but homeowners and investors do not need to worry about a wipe-out. While a bubble in the first home owner segment of the housing market is set to burst with the winding back of government grants in two months, industry experts say investors will fill the breach. They don’t expect the property market to follow the big slumps felt in Britain and the US, where prices have fallen by more than 20 per cent.

In the US, in particular, the problem is too much supply and not enough demand. “Fundamentally, America has 1.1 million properties in oversupply,” says Damon Nagel, the managing director of property investment company Ironfish. “In Australia, it’s more than 180,000 in undersupply”. We can keep building for 18 months and only catch up to demand.” But the buyers of property are expected to increasingly be investors, rather than owner occupiers, once the Federal Government First Home Owner Grant starts to wind down from September 30. “I think you’ll find first home buyers next year will be like rocking horse droppings – few and far between,” Nagel says.

Professionals Real Estate Group agency principal Claudine Deneuve says buyer inquiries have risen as people realise interest rates are unlikely to fall further. She’s expecting investors to return to the market as first home owner activity falls in coming months. “House-price growth will be fairly moderate, with a much slower global economy,” Deneuve says. “We have avoided the 30-40 per cent drops of the US and UK because our economy was in far better shape than our peers at the start of this historic global recession. “If the global recession drags out too long, Australia’s economy may become at risk.”

A report released last month by forecaster BIS Shrapnel says conditions are ripe for a sustained recovery in residential property prices. “Low interest rates, solid growth in rents and housing shortages are evident in most markets,” the report says.

But not everybody believes the outlook is for growth. Morgan Stanley chief economist Gerard Minack says Australian residential property remains expensive “and will likely prove to be a poor medium-term investment”. “Whether there are big price declines will depend on employment,” he says. “In markets where employment and incomes have taken a big hit . . . we have seen big price declines.”

But Joe Siriani, executive director of mortgage broking group Smartline, says he does not think prices will drop while houses are still in short supply. “Demand stems from population growth,” he says. “With 190,000 migrants coming into Australia, there’s a shortage of housing, and people need accommodation.”

He reckons now is a ”once-in-a-generation opportunity” for investors. “It’s probably a good time to buy in the right spot, but be careful,” Siriani says.

Home  buyers on a budget face the prospect of being squeezed out of the Gold Coast’s pricey property market. That is the view held by real estate information service RP Data as governments increasingly look to high-density housing to meet the region’s growing housing needs, say experts.

Information released yesterday by RP Data reveals Gold Coast suburbs are already the most expensive in Australia, outside the capital cities. In a list of the top 10 most expensive regional suburbs for median house prices in Australia, eight are on the Gold Coast — including the top seven. According to the information, Surfers Paradise ($1.284 million) Mermaid Beach ($1.1 million), Paradise Point ($877,500), Bundall, ($862,000) and Clear Island Waters ($843,750) are the most expensive regional suburbs for median house prices in Australia.

Seven Gold Coast suburbs, including Hope Island ($705,000), Hollywell ($645,000) and Bilinga ($602,000) feature in a list of the top 10 most expensive regional suburbs for median unit prices. The data compares the Gold Coast to major regional centres such a Geelong, in Victoria, Newcastle, in NSW, and Mount Gambier, in South Australia.

RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said it was the climate that made the Gold Coast such a desirable place to live but also doubled as a curse for those hoping to buy into the cheaper end of the property market. “It probably is also connected to the fact that the linkages between the Gold Coast and Brisbane are better than some of these other areas and their capital cities,” he said. “Some people find it (living on the Gold Coast) more desirable than living in Brisbane — you don’t necessarily get that in some of those other areas.”

Mr Kusher said as higher-density housing developments gradually replaced existing houses on the Gold Coast, property values were likely to get even higher in the longer term. “You can’t keep growing urban sprawl forever and the way forward is high-density unit developments,” he said. “We’re already seeing that (housing affordability) is already an issue on the Coast. “In many cases property values on the Coast are higher than they are in Brisbane, particularly for houses. “It is getting harder and harder to get affordable property on the Gold Coast.”

Gold Coast Bulletin

QIC today (11th June 2009) announced the commencement of the next phase in Robina Town Centre’s landmark expansion program to deliver a new two-level Myer department store, additional specialty retail stores and increased parking facilities.

This $90 million development, when completed by late 2010, will further position Robina Town Centre as the most progressive and dominant super regional retail centre on the Gold Coast. QIC Head of Global Real Estate, Robert Carter, said Robina Town Centre is a vital part of the Gold Coast and QIC remained committed to ensuring its retail offer kept up with the demands of the community and visitors to the region.

“The Myer expansion is the next logical step in the development of Robina Town Centre and is in keeping with the growth of this key regional area, providing unrivalled leisure and retail opportunities on the Gold Coast,” Mr Carter said. “The Gold Coast is one of the fastest growing regions in Australia and this is driving demand for more services including retail and leisure. “QIC’s continued investment in Robina, first with our acquisition of Robina Town Centre in 1999 and most recently with our landmark multi-stage expansion, has created a leading shopping destination befitting its premium location.”

“Overall, approximately $400 million will be invested in the expansion of the Centre to achieve our vision to create a true town centre environment, complete with a diverse mix of retail destinations as well as entertainment, dining and leisure opportunities to meet the needs of this strong growth region.” Paul Banks, Myer Director of Property said, “The new Myer store at Robina represents an exciting opportunity to be a part of one of Australia’s most progressive retail developments.” “Myer will be bringing some of its best local and overseas brands to Robina and the store will undoubtedly provide an inspirational shopping environment for the local community.”

The new two-level Myer department store will be approximately 12,000 square metres and developed on the site of the Centre’s original cinema complex, which has relocated to its new lakeside premises at the Centre.In addition to Myer, the expansion will also enable the introduction of a new mall, additional specialty retail tenancies, a major upgrade to the Arbour Lane car park and a number of road access improvements.

Robina Town Centre is located adjacent to the $1 billion Varsity Lakes mixed-use community, Bond University, and is nearby to the new 25,000 seat Skilled Park Stadium as well as the Robina Hospital, which is currently undergoing a $40 million expansion. Robina is supported by major road networks and public transport, including train and bus services, giving it unparalleled access to the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Northern New South Wales.

The cost of undeveloped land in Australia rose by 7% in the March quarter – according to a recent Housing Industry of Australia report.
HIA Chief Economist, Harley Dale was reported in the Gold Coast Bulletin (July 25-26th 2009) as saying that the positive result poured cold water on the doom and gloom assessments or residential property for 2009. “The associated benefit to economic activity and employment will become apparent from mid 2009″ he said.

Gold Coast ‘Capital’ Growth

THE hordes of interstate migrants flocking to the Gold Coast could turn the city into Australia’s de facto fifth ‘capital’ behind Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. The local population is predicted to double by 2050 to 1.2 million thanks to record interstate migration, unprecedented births and the nation’s lowest death rate. Social demographer Mark McCrindle said Australia would reach 22 million people by December, with cities like the Gold Coast leading the way.

Mr McCrindle said the Coast, with 630,000 people could eventually overtake Adelaide, which has 1.2 million people. The Coast is already much bigger than Canberra/ACT (350,000), Hobart (215,000) and Darwin (124,000). Mr McCrindle’s population snapshot of the nation released yesterday shows a country exceeding earlier predictions of growth and population. Based on the current growth rate, the country’s population will have more than doubled to over 44 million by mid-century, he said.

Earlier predictions by the Australian Bureau of Statistics had Australia only hitting a maximum of 26.4 million. Mr McCrindle said more people were moving to Queensland than any other state and most were settling in the southeast.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/07/24/100961_gold-coast-news.html

Australia is experiencing a Sea Change. Large numbers of people are moving to be closer to the coast. Referred to as “The Great Southern Exodus”, just how does this impact on property values?

Family and friends from Sydney used to tell me that one day they would sell their Sydney home and with their profit move to the Gold Coast and pay cash for their dream home. The problem with that theory is that the value of real estate (like bananas and oil) is determined by supply and demand. Where there is no available land to develop new residential estates, such as is the case on the Gold Coast, and you have an ever growing population… property prices rise quickly!

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Peter Switzer comments on Finance @ Yahoo7

“Every time I interview Australia’s academic bear – Associate Professor Steve Keen from the University of Western Sydney (he predicted a 40% slump in real estate prices in Australia) I always need a positive booster to remind me that the Australian economy is an out-performer and looks poised to beat the global worst case scenarios put forward by other bearish or negative economists.”

The Good News

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